Annual or term pass, frank, or form holder and writing-frame.



ELL. SMITH. N N H N ANNUAL 0R TERM PASS, FRANK, URFORM HOLDER ANDWRITING FRAME.

APPLICATION FILED APR- 2| i915. 1,1 98 ,590; Patented Sept. 19, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- WL'ilLeJm; N N N bu nim" E. L. SMITH.

ANNUAL 0R TERM PASS, FRANK, 0H F'DRM HOLDER AND WRITING FRAME.

Patented Sept. 19, 1916,

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

APPLICATIUN FILED APR. 2, 19I5.

Im enfor Wiinessek.

for any such purpose;

ERNEST L. SMITH, OF SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH.

ANNUAL 0R TERM PASS, FRANK, 03 FORM HOLDER AND WRITING-FRAME.

Speeification of Letters Patent. Patented S t. 19, 1916 Applicationfiled April 2, 1915. Serial No. 18,756.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ERNEST L. SMITH, acitizen of the United States, residing at Salt Lake City, in the countyof Salt Lake and State of Utah, have invented a new, original, anduseful Improvement in the Form of an Annual or Term Pass, Frank, or FormHolder and Writing-Frame, of which the following is a specification.

My invention reates to improvements in the methods now employed inissuing and writing annual or term railroad, steamship and sleeping carpasses, express and telegraph franks, and the making of a permahentrecord thereof upon card forms prescribed for the recording of suchpasses or franks, numbered to correspond with the passes or franks to beissued or unnumbered as may be desired; also the writing and manifolding of other forms of varying sizes that may be used for otherpurposes.

The objects of my improvement are: first, to provide a holder and framefor separate passes, franks or other forms which wi retain same in atrue position while belng filled out on an ordinary typewriter or otherwriting device; second, to afford facilities in one writing operation ona typewriter or other writing device for (w) filling out separatepasses, franks or other forms; (6) making manifold of the matter writtenon the pass, frank or other form by the use of carbon paper, uponconforming record cards or other forms,

and (c) filling in additional record orother data required to be shownon the record cards or other forms after the writing of the pass, frankor other form is completed; third, to provide a uniform method whichcommon carriers may follow in issuing and writing annual or term passesor franks and making record thereof, under the regulations prescribed bythe Interstate Commerce Commission dealin with the subject of uniformmethods fort e issuing and recording of passes by carriers, effectiveJanuary 1st, 1912; andfourth', to provide a method by a which carboncounterparts of matter written upon blanks of forms of one size used foran purpose, use 0 carbon paper and impressed upon other blanks or formsof a larger size used .I attain these objects by the use of a holder andframe as illustrated in the accompany ng drawings,

in whichcounterparts 1 edge may be transmitted by the Figure 1represents a front elevation of a frame or holder constructed inaccordance w1th this invention; Fig. 2 is a similar view showlng a passblank to be filled in arranged m operative position therein Fig. 3 is aperspective view taken from the rear showlng the pass blank in position.

Numerals l and 2 indicate, respectively, upper and lower outer paralleledges of the frame. Numerals 7 and 4 indicate outer parallel side edgesof the frame.

Numeral 5 indicates marginal lettering on the side faces of the frame,the vertical spacing of which corresponds with (a) the vertical spacingof the printed or engraved matter on the pass, frank or other form, (6)the matter to be written on the pass, frank or other form, (0) thatprinted and required to be shown on the record cards or other forms, and(d) the vertical spacingmechanism of a standard typewriter or otherwriting device;' it being mtended, however,

that the lettering shown in the drawing on the side faces of the frameis illustrative only and may be changed, altered or varied from as mayberequired'for any purpose, without invalidating my claims. 7

Numerals 6, 7 8, 9 and 10 combinedindicate inner edges of the framebounding an opening in the frame which is made by cutting out thissection of'the sheet, substantially as shown in the drawing, either byhand or, preferably, by the use of dies provided for this urpose. Thelower edge of this opening (6 is parallel to the lower edge of the frame(2) between points a and b. The left side edge of this opening (7) isparallel to the corresponding outer side of the frame (3) between pointsa and d. The right side edge of this opening (8) is parallel to thecorresponding outer side edge of the-frame (4) between points 6 and f.-The 11 and a; from 38) bei j and from upper edge (9) to left side edge(7) between points 13 and a.

' drawing 'be changed, altered or varied from eit Numeral 11 indicatesupper left perforation. Numeral 12 indicates upper right perforation.Numeral 13 indicates lower left perforation. Numeral 14 indicates lowerright perforation; the size of and distance between said upper andbetween said lower perforations to be variable according to therequirements for which the holder and frame is used. Numerals 15 and 16,re spectively, indicate connecting slots cut centrally and on an anglefrom upper left perforation (11) to lower left perforation (13) and fromupper right perforation (12) to lower right perforation (14), therespective perforations and slots thus combined providing horizontal andvertical guides and retaining apertures or openings in the frame forsecuring the pass, frank or other form to be written, in the frame in aposition partly over the opening in the frame and corresponding to thespacing of the marginal lettering, the printing on the record cards orother forms, and the spacing mechanism of a typewriter or other writingdevice.

In Fig. 2 a pass blank or form P is shown disposed in operative positionwithin the holder corresponding substantially in width to the length ofthe opening in said holder, the upper corners of said pass beingdesigned to extend through the slits 15 and-1'6 which are disposed abovethe opening and the side edges of the pass blank P snugly engage theouter edges of the perforations 13 and 14 respectively and the contactthus afforded between these respective edges supplemented by thepressure of the edges of the slits l5 and 16 against the front and backfaces of the pass blank retains the pass blank or other form in theholder and frame in a position to enable it to be conveyed through atypewriter or other writing machine. It is thus understood that theper-' forations 13 and 14 are disposed apart a istance corresponding tothe width of the lpass blank to insure the retaining of said lank inoperative position in the' frame.

It is intended that this frame shall be made of sheet celluloid, oiled,fiber or other tough, durable and pliable paper, or other material andby any process of manufacture that Will'produce a frame of the shape andform substantially as illustrated in the and that the size and structureof the frame in the shape and form herein described and illustrated onthe drawin may er to Increase 'or decrease; its dimensions'as maybeecessary for any 'uses to which it is adapted in' writing separatepasses, franks or other forms and making carbon counterparts of matterwritten-thereon upon conforming record cards or'other forms, withoutinvalidating my claims. I

To use my holderand frame for the puring of the frame poses intended,the pass, frank or other form to be written,

in apertures or openings formed by upper and lower left perforations (11and 13) and connecting slot (15) and by upper and lower rightperforations (12 and 14) and connecting slot (16), and forcing the pass,frank or other form up against the upper edges of the upper perforations(l1 and 12), as shown in front view 2 and side perspective view 3 of theaccompanying drawing. This secures and holds the pass, frank or otherform in the frame so that it will be partly over the opening in theframe, as illustrated in view 2 of the drawing.

The frame with the pass, frank or other form thus secured in andcombined With it is then placed in a typewriter or other writing deviceas though it were an ordinary sheet of paper, together with the printedconforming record cards or other forms of the required size, arrangementand number, with carbon paper as ordinarily used in manifolding properlyinserted therein for making the required copies.

N 0 special attachment or device is necessary to hold the frame withpass, frank or other form inserted therein and the record cards or otherforms together when placipg them in the tvnewriter or other writing device, although such attachment or device may be employed if desired.

When so placed in the typewriter or other writing device and adjusted toproper position, the pass, frank or other form in the frame is filledout in the usual manner,-and by-means of the opening in the frame andthe carbon paper placed thereunder an exact counterpart of the matterwritten on the pass, frank or other form is transmitted, through theopening, to and impressed directly upon the record cards or other formsused in the conforming spaces provided thereon.

The pass, frank or other form, after being filled out as necessary, isthen removed from the frame while it is still in the typewriter or otherwriting device, or maybe left in the frame as desired, and the recordcards or other forms are completed by writing on the back of the firstcarbon sheet in the openlettering on the side faces of the frame, theadditional data required to be shown on the record cards or other forms,Whichwriting only, is placed in the frame, by inserting the two uppercorners thereof the respective guiding and retaining and opposite themarginal is 'in turn by the carbon paper impressed upon the record cardsor other forms in the conforming spaces provided thereon; thusaccomplishing by the use of this holder and frame (a) the filling out ofseparate passes, franks or other forms, (6) the making of manifoldcoimterparts of the matter wrltten on the pass, frank or other form uponconforming record cards or other forms, and

, (c) the filling in of additional'record or other data required to beshown on record cards or other forms after the pass, frank or other formis written, in one, simultaneous operation upon a typewriter or otherwriting device and, furthermore, providing a method by which carboncounterparts of matter written upon blanks orforms of one size used forany purpose may be transmitted by the use of carbon paper and impressedupon other blanks or forms of a larger size used for any such purpose,in one writing operation. 7

The employment of this pass, frank or form holder and writing frame foruse in the issuing and writing of, passes and franks and the makingofrecord cards therefor in the manner herein outlined, and for otherwriting and manifolding purposes for which it may be used, will resultin greater accuracy, efiiciency and savingvof labor and time (a) in thewriting of such passes and franks and the making of required recordthereof, and (b) in the writing and manifolding of other forms ofvarying sizes that may be used for other purposes; and will effectmaterial economy (a) to the carriers by doing away with the labor nowemployed under present practices where the recording a of passes orfranks issued by them is done by an operation separate from theirissuance 1 or writingeither by typewritingthe record cards for each passor frank issued or making the record thereofin book provided for thepurpose, and (b) to others by eliminating at least one operation on atypewriter or other writing device in the writing of forms of varyingsizes and arrangement used for any purpose; this economy-being greateror less in the case of the carriers according to the number of passes orfranks to be written -and recorded each year, and in the case of othersaccording to the purposes for which this holder and frame is employed.

This holder and frame is adapted for use in holding and writing passesor franks upon a typewriter of the kind and character now generally usedby carriers, and will necessitate little, if any, modification in theweight, size or arrangement of the cards used for passor frank purposes.

I claim:

1. A form holder comprising a flexible sheet having an opening thereinwith obliquely disposed longitudinally spaced formreceiving slitsarranged there'above and terminating at their ends in apertures, saidslits being inclined forwardly and toward each other, the walls of saidslits normally contacting to form gripping elements for a form to besupported thereby, the apertures at the ends of said slits beingdesigned to facilitate the insertion of the form to be supported, thedistance between the inner remote ends of said slits corresponding tothe width of the, form to be inserted and held therein. i

2. The combination with a form to be supported, of a holder thereforcom-prising a flexible sheet of larger size than said form and having anopening therein of greater width than the width of the form to besupported, said sheet having longitudinally spaced obliquely disposedform-receiving slits arranged above the opening therein and convergingtoward the adjacent edge of said sheet, the walls of said slits normallycontacting to form gripping elements for said form, said slits beingspaced from the lower edge of said opening a, distance greater than thewidth of said form, wherevby when the form is engaged with the holder, aspace is provided between its lower edge and the lower edge of theopening in the holder to provide a Writing space below the form, saidholder having indicia disposedv thereon outside the opening thereinforming guides for the matter to be written on the form and on a blankdisposed below the opening in said holder.

In witnessthat I claim the foregoing I,

have hereunto subscribed my name this twenty-third day of March, 1915.ERNEST L. SMITH.

Witnesses:

F. H. KNIoKERBooKER, J. L. GLEMONS.

